LOC News
Massive Oregon DMV Hack – Legislature Shorts Funding for Cybersecurity Legislation
Yesterday, the Oregon public became aware of a massive data hack of the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) systems. This hack puts information at risk for an estimated 3.5 million driver's license and identification card holders. The DMV learned of the breach on June 1 and realized that it affected about 90% of the state’s driver’s license and ID card files on Monday June 12. It’s taken the agency a few days to understand what data has been compromised.
Since February 1 of this year, Oregon has experienced multiple cyberattacks across the state. These include state agencies (ODOT DMV - MOVEit), an Oregon school district (Dallas School District #2), a city (Oregon City), a County (Curry), a Special District (Mapleton Water District), and a private college/university (Lewis & Clark College). According to a searchable database provided by the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Protection website, there has been an increase of 66 data breaches reported between February 1 and June 15. This amounts to roughly one new breach every other day. Unfortunately, these are just the known breaches, and it’s likely there are many more.
Additionally, the Legislature had the opportunity to fund a program that the LOC has been advocating for since 2022 – the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence created by HB 2049. The bill was trimmed down from a $15 million dollar ask to just about $4.9 million and continues to make its way through the Legislature. The bill originally included a funding request that would allow Portland State University (PSU), Oregon State University (OSU), and the University of Oregon (UO), along with other higher education institutions, to work together to build a cybersecurity workforce for the future. The current trimmed-down version of the bill limited the funding to just PSU, OSU, and UO.
Furthermore, the current bill stripped out the $3.1 million in matching funds that is necessary for the state to apply for the federal State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program that was included in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA). The second round of funding opportunities will become available in September 2023 with two more additional rounds in 2024 and 2025. The feds have been clear that they do not intend to provide additional waivers for the match. The LOC still strongly supports the bill but is disappointed in the lack of resources and urgency for this request. Senator Aaron Woods and Representative Nancy Nathanson have championed HB 2049 and have continued to press leadership to fully fund the Center of Excellence and to provide the state matching funds.
The LOC has since received commitments that the Legislature will ensure the state is able to have funding available to match the federal programs in future emergency board action.
What Can Cities and Their Communities Do?
First, Oregonians should be monitoring their credit reports for signs of fraudulent activity and report any unusual activity immediately. The public should consider freezing their credit unless they have pending applications. They can open it up at any time that is necessary when applying for a new loan. Oregonians can access a free credit report once a year and it’s highly encouraged to do so once a year to monitor activity. The Federal Trade Commission has consumer advice for how to access free reports and how to report any scams.
- Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services or 1-800-685-1111;
- Experian: experian.com/help or 1-888-397-3742; and
- TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-help or 1-888-909-8872.
Active monitoring of personal credit and bank accounts is a great way for individuals to protect their identity. It’s also advisable to update passwords and have a two-tier authentication process for all accounts. Additional information to protect individuals and communities can be found at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and other trusted resources.
Contact: Nolan Pleše, Lobbyist – nplese@orcities.org
Last Updated 6/16/23